Nopalea cochenillifera
(cochineal cactus)

Preferred Common Name

• cochineal cactus

Other Scientific Names

• Cactus cochenillifer L.
• Opuntia cochenillifera (L.) Mill.

International Common Names

• English: cochineal nopal cactus; cochineal-plant; nopal cactus; nopales opuntia; prickly pear; slippery cassie; sweet palm; velvet opuntia; warm hand; woolly joint prickly pear
• Spanish: nochestli; nocheznopal; nopal chamacuero; nopal de cochinilla; nopal de la cochinilla; nopal de San Gabriel; nopal nochetzli; nopalea cactus; tunita
• French: cocheniller; raquette Espagnole; raquette sans piquant
• Portuguese: cacto-de-cochonilha; cacto-sem-espinhos; palma; palma-de-engorda
• German: Cochenille-Feigenkaktus; wachet

Local Common Names

• Anguilla: French prickle
• Barbados: scrunchineel
• Brazil: cacto-sem-espinho; cardo-de-cochinilha; nopal; palma-doce; palma-forrageira; palma-miuda; palmatória; palmatória-doce; urumbeta
• Cuba: tuna; tuna blanca; tuna mansa
• Dominican Republic: alquitira
• El Salvador: cactus; higo chombo; tuna nopal
• French Guiana: raquette
• Guam: lengua-de-vaca
• Guyana: cochineal
• Indonesia: kaktus centong
• Mexico: biaa; piaa
• Norway: cochenillekaktus
• Palau: esbocheb
• Philippines: dapal; dila-dila; dilang-baka; palad
• Saint Helena: English tungy; Opuntia; white tungy
• Suriname: nopari
• Sweden: kochenillkaktus
• Venezuela: tuna real

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Caryophyllales
•                         Family: Cactaceae
•                             Genus: Nopalea
•                                 Species: Nopalea cochenillifera

The Cactaceae family includes several species of economic importance. The family has over 1450 species and c. 127 genera, with the greatest species richness being observed in Mexico (Hernández-Hernández et al., 2011). Nopalea comes from “nopal”, a local Mexican name for cactus, and cochenillifera refers to the cochineal insect cultivated on these plants for producing a red colour dye (Downs, 1965).

The following description is from Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2017):

Shrubs or trees to 4-5 m; trunks 15-20 cm diameter. Stem segments linear to narrowly obovate, sometimes slightly falcate, (10-)15-35(-50) x 5-15 cm; areoles 2-3+ cm apart, 2-5 mm diameter; wool tawny, whitening with age. Spines usually absent or 1(-3), particularly on older pads, straight or curved, brown, aging grey, stout, to 2 cm. Glochids inconspicuous. Flowers 4-7 cm; inner tepals spatulate; crowded pink filaments and white style much longer than tepals, to 15 mm; nectar chamber elliptic to obconic. Fruits ellipsoid, 25-40 x 20-25 mm; areoles well distributed. Seeds tan to grey, 3-5 x 1.5-3 mm, slightly pubescent.

N. cochenillifera is a perennial shrub/tree cactus species that has been introduced into various countries as a host of the cochineal insect for the commercial production of red dyes (Encyclopedia of Life, 2017; PIER, 2017). Its further use as an ornamental, vegetable and forage/fodder species has contributed to its spread (PIER, 2017).

The use of the species in the textile dye industry was well established in Mexico when the Spanish arrived to that country. From Mexico, they took the cactus and the cochineal insect to southern Spain, India, Africa, Colombia, Jamaica and the Canary Islands (Hanelt, 2017). France was also one of the leading importers of cochineal insects in the mid-nineteenth century (Donkin, 1977). The species was present in Asia and Oceania prior to the 1800s (Byles, 1951) and there is an unconfirmed record for the Philippines dated from about 1695 (Donkin, 1977). N. cochenillifera has been present in the Caribbean since the 1800s (Missouri Botanical Garden, 2017; New York Botanical Garden, 2017). Although no date is given, Fuentes Fiallo (2011-2012) reports the species was introduced to Cuba as a host of Dactylopius coccus. In the eighteenth century, it was introduced by the Portuguese from the Canary Islands to Brazil (Domingues, 1960).

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• saline

Natural Dispersal

N. cochenillifera spreads vegetatively and can also be propagated by seed (LLifle, 2017).

Vector Transmission (Biotic)

Seeds of N. cochenillifera are spread by birds and bats (LLifle, 2017).

Accidental Introduction

N. cochenillifera can be dispersed through garden waste (PIER, 2017).

Intentional Introduction

N. cochenillifera has been intentionally introduced into much of its range for its cultivation as the host of the cochineal insect and as an ornamental, vegetable or forage/fodder species (Arreola et al., 2013; Hanelt, 2017).

The species is reported as a potential noxious weed due to its high reproductive potential and the ease by which it spreads vegetatively through plant fragments. It can also potentially spread pests that might have a negative effect on other cacti species. Nevertheless, more information about the potential impacts of N. cochenillifera on native species and habitats is needed.

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Reproduces asexually

• Pest and disease transmission
• Produces spines, thorns or burrs

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

Economic Value

For centuries, N. cochenillifera has been widely cultivated for its use as a host of the cochineal insect, in order to produce red dyes (Arreola et al., 2013). Although this use declined with the appearance of synthetic dyes, the species is still cultivated to produce dyes, which are used as natural colouring in food, soft drinks and cosmetics (LLifle, 2017; PIER, 2017). In a note found in a 1906 specimen from Puerto Rico, it is written that, in 1868, the export value of the species from the Canary Islands alone was 4,000,000 USA dollars (New York Botanical Garden, 2017). The species is also widely used commercially as an ornamental, a vegetable and a forage/fodder species (Dave's Garden, 2017; Encyclopedia of Life, 2017).

Social Benefit

N. cochenillifera is used as an ornamental species for hedges, and is used for producing glue, handicrafts and furniture (Martínez Betancourt et al., 2000; Fuentes Fiallo, 2002; Lira et al., 2009; Hanelt, 2017). The stems and fruits are used as a vegetable, eaten raw or cooked (Arreola et al., 2013; LLifle, 2017). It is also used in religious ceremonies (Fuentes Fiallo, 2003) and as a fodder and forage species (ISSG, 2017).

The following medicinal uses are reported for the species: to treat rheumatism, haemorrhoids, ear pain, headaches, fever, babies’ colds, hypertension, tumours, inflammation, coughs, fungal skin infections, indigestion, kidney and spleen problems, and to purify the blood (Weeks and Black, 1992; Martínez Betancourt et al., 2000; Encyclopedia of Life, 2017; Useful Tropical Plants, 2017). Indigenous communities in Mexico use it to bathe mother and infant at post-partum (Smith-Oka, 2008). It is also used as a shampoo (Handler and Jacoby, 1993). In ethnoveterinary medicine, it is used to treat inflammation in horses (Lans et al., 2006).

Environmental Services

N. cochenillifera is used to enrich the soil, trap water and prevent its loss through evaporation (ISSG, 2017). The species has been suggested for use in phytoremediation of waste products of the textile-dye industry and as an hyperaccumulator and phytoremediator of chromium (Adki et al., 2012; 2013). It is also recommended for the revegetation of mined bauxitic soils and the rehabilitation of degraded arid habitats (Le Houerou, 1976; Howard, 1991).